During that ten day trip I saw all kind of animals along the road. Lots of cows and sheep, some kangaroo's (both alive and dead aside or on the road), some goats and impala's and surprisingly one dingo! But the animal I saw the most was the wedge-tail eagle. A damn big predator and according to Wikipedia it's the biggest bird in Australia. It's a really impressive view to see these birds hovering in the sky, looking for prey a couple of hundred meters beneath them. And when they dive towards earth you really wonder why they don't crash into the ground. The most impressive I saw was a road sign to be honest. It says: BEWARE – Unfenced road. Wandering cattle. The sign is about 2 m², and you should be aware that it is not coated with that reflecting layer used on all other traffic signs except for a small triangle in the upper right corner. But is impressive because of that second sentence: Unfenced road. I didn't drive after 21h00 because it was too dangerous. At night the road train is the king of the road but the cow behind a curve at the second spot might kill you. It will definitely ruin your car. Roo's (short for kangaroo) are also quite dangerous… I know, because I killed two of them. In short: One kangaroo was already in the safe zone (right lane) and jumped back right in front of my right wheel. Roo dead and I lost my indicator glass :) . I also finished one that was already lying crippled on the side of the road. Sorry…, but these things happen here and no-one seems to bother that much. I also managed to evade cows (twice), sheep (twice), kangaroo's (three times) and an eagle who thought he could take advantage because all his mates where retreating to a safer distance. I do not know how to translate this expression we've got at home called: "Sprinkhanen". Literally I would translate it to grashopping, which actually is not too bad at all. It's a term my parents used to express a certain manoeuvre to pass slower cars on the road and I LOVE IT. It only happens when you have to pass several slower cars in a row. In Australia, more specific on the Stuart Highway, you have the perfect conditions between the SA-NT border and Alice Springs. A lot of vans and cars with trailers or caravans are driving slower than the speed limit of 130 km/h. And when they form a convoy, because the first one is driving the slowest, it's possible to pass them one by one. If this is happening on a single carriage way with oncoming traffic on a regular interval you can speak of grasshopping. You actually have to speed up, pass the slower car, brake and wait till oncoming traffic is passed, speed up again and pass the next one before you and this you have to repeat at least 3 or 4 times before you are actually grasshopping. I love it. It is such an awesome feeling to really drive. I reckon I would love it even more in a car with manual transmission. But when driving the distance I've been driving I was quite happy to have an automatic gearbox and cruise control. I can only recommend everybody (travellers going to Oz) to buy a car made for long distance travelling. Those small vans are may be handy but not that comfortable at all. Most people reading this blog know once in a while I've got a pretty nasty pain in my back. Well I've spent about 3,5 days in a row in my car and never had any problem with my back. The Falcon doesn't look like it but it really is some kind of a Rolls Royce on the road here. Not really a quiet car, but stable and willing to eat the road mile after mile. Because the car is a wagon it was possible to sleep in it by folding the back bench. It's a comfortable place for 2 persons and a luxury sleep alone :) And it will save you some money. In general you're allowed to stay 24h at rest stops along the highway. You always need to check the fire ban rules, but normally you're also allowed to make fire, which makes the cold nights a bit more bearable. But don't underestimate the weather. It is still winter here and nights can be damn cold… During the day it depends where you are exactly. Melbourne is windy and rainy (comparable to a Belgian autumn day in October), Adelaide is more like an early spring day, cold but sunny. Alice Springs is unpredictable. If it's cloudy it's mostly wet and windy. It was the reason for me to ignore Uluru when driving towards Darwin. It was grey and even raining, not a good time to spend several hours outdoors. 
It's a marvellous view to see Uluru dominating the area when driving towards the National Park, but it's just a huge rock when standing at the base. The day I was there it was not possible to climb to the top because of the strong winds. As you all might know the indigenous people request not to climb Uluru because it is sacred ground to them. Off course a lot of people don't show the necessary respect. I have to admit that I ignored one of their requests. I took –unknowing- a picture of a holy side of Uluru. Later when checking out the pictures I saw a small sign in the foreground asking not to take pictures from this side. Oops, my bad… The most interesting of this whole thing (I do not know how to say it otherwise) is the museum part of it. If you follow the base walk you'll see a lot of signs giving you some info about a lot of things. But everything is based on knowledge from the Aboriginals. Desert figs and plums, how to find wells, teaching areas, hunting spots, it gives you a closer look on the life of the people living on these lands for centuries… And it also gives you some insight in the way food collectors and hunters lived several thousands of years ago in Europe. It couldn't be that different, except for the weather may be. But Kings Canyon is the place to be on the Red Centre Way. The area is just amazing. It gives you (if you're not already been convinced by it) the feeling you're absolutely worth nothing in the history of earth. You see the result of hundreds of thousands years of forces of natures represented in a couple of majestic domes near the canyon. The canyon itself it also very amazing, but to me the domes where the one thing that once more made me stand perplex. I just can't describe it. And you know what I hate most? After 45 min of walking the battery of my camera died. So I've got absolutely no decent picture to show to you guys. I suggest you google it:) It was also the area where petrol was the most expensive: $2,25/L. Everything was expensive there, a 375ml can of coke was $4 while in Melbourne it's about $2. Along the road prices varied, but in general everything was about 20% more expensive compared to Melbourne. Makes sense if you see what it takes to get everything at the spot. Trucks are transporting pretty much everything across the country. The famous road trains, heavy trucks pulling up to three 15m trailers at once are both your best friend and your worst enemy. During the day it's mostly okay, you see them coming. And if there is an empty trailer at the back you see it "jumping" from afar. But a fully loaded road train running at full speed is a massive air movement you have to pass, and even my Falcon shook once in a while. At night you really want to drive less than 300m behind one of them, because they clear the road before you and you can see much more because of their huge (and I mean HUGE) Xeon lights. And that's also your worst enemy at night, being blinded by a road train driving towards you at a distance of 3km. Not funny, not funny at all… 
Darwin is almost pathetic, everything is happening in just one street. All bars, hostels, restaurants are to be found at Mitchell Street. Ok, the esplanade is very nice and in a way comparable to Barcelona or any other Mediterranean city. The beaches seemed to be very nice too. But that's about it. I would almost say my hometown has more interesting stuff if it wasn't for the Military Museum. They tell you something more about the Japanese bombing Australia during WWII. The Museum was okay, but I've seen better ones covering similar subjects. You may also notice a lot of WWII markers once you enter the Northern Territories. Mostly they point you to an information board explain you can see the remnants of an ammo/fuel bunker, an airstrip or a crash site. Mostly not even worth a picture. You could more or less say the same about Alice Springs. Not really worth spending a lot of time if you don't have much time to spend. I would rather advice you to find a good camp spot near the highway (there really are great rest areas along that highway, I've been using Camp 7 to decide where I would stop) and explore the area around both cities. Because that really is the only thing to see in 'Stralia, its different wildlife. [googlemaps height=395 width=600]
posted via: http://www.dew4chter.be/blog
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